FAQ/Resources

(State agency use of the ITQ is subject to the same Administrative Rules as any other State procurement.)

What are “IT Managed Services”?

“IT Managed Services”, for purposes of this ITQ, is defined as a means for providing day-to-day support and administration for a wide range of IT functions, including but not limited to, Infrastructure Administration Services, Application Development Services, Cloud Administration Services, and IT Business Services. For the sake of clarity, IT Managed Services does not include Staff Augmentation, Software-as-a-Service, Platform-as-a-Service, Infrastructure-as-a-Service, or Hosting.

What is the ITQ process?

An Invitation to Qualify (ITQ) is a process by which the State invites vendors to submit their qualifications to provide certain services, in this case IT Managed Services, to State of Iowa agencies and other governmental entities. Members of OCIO and DAS-CPE assessed each vendor’s level of experience based upon the qualifications they submitted. As a result of this pre-qualification process, certain respondents were deemed to be qualified to provide IT Managed Services to the State, and were added to a pre-qualified shortlist. Subsequent procurements for IT Managed Services may be released, at State’s discretion, only to this shortlist of pre-qualified vendors. 

Why is the ITQ process beneficial?

Each pre-qualified ITQ vendor has proven themselves, by way of a standardized assessment, to have the requisite experience necessary to provide quality IT Managed Services for State of Iowa agencies and other governmental entities for one or more of the four IT Managed Services categories listed above. By creating a shortlist of qualified vendors, less time will be expended in the assessment and scoring of vendor qualifications and bids for subsequent procurements. Additionally, each pre-qualified vendor has agreed to the State’s terms and conditions without modification as a condition of pre-qualification. The shortlisting of pre-qualified vendors, together with the pre-negotiation of terms and conditions, will ultimately increase the efficiency of the procurement process and lessen the amount of time it takes for State of Iowa agencies and other governmental entities to get from bid release to project initiation.

Does my agency need to negotiate terms and conditions with the ITQ vendor? 

No, the selected vendors have all signed agreements with the State of Iowa and have accepted the State of Iowa terms and conditions. If your organization requires special terms and conditions, in addition to the terms and conditions currently in place, you will be responsible for identifying those additional necessary terms and including them in Section 6.2 of the ITQ RFP Template.

Is the Managed Services ITQ available to my organization? 

The Managed Services ITQ is available to any Governmental Entity or Governmental subdivision as defined in Iowa Code Chapter 8A.101: https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/8A.101.pdf

Is the IT Managed Services ITQ the correct vehicle for my agency’s specific needs? 

Once you have determined that your State agency or governmental entity needs to obtain IT related services for your project, ask yourself the following questions:

Is my particular need project specific? Or is the need simply to obtain additional IT help?  If project specific work, consider using ITQ.  If need is for additional help, consider obtaining IT Staff augmentation (State agreement with Computer Aid (MA #4080-13E) provides means to obtain IT staff augmentation).

Does my need fit within one of the ITQ Prequalified List Categories?  (1) Infrastructure Administration; (2) Application and Web Development;  (3) Cloud Computing Administration; and (4) IT Business Services.  If yes, consider using ITQ.

Does my need require IT Services that may fit within more than one of the four ITQ Categories (see above) or does the need require a very specialized IT expertise?  If the need is general and does not fit neatly into any given category, consider using an RFP, an RFB, or some other allowable procurement method. If the need is more specialized, and seems to fit in any one of the four ITQ Prequalified List Categories, consider using the ITQ.

Agencies are encouraged to contact OCIO or DAS-Central Procurement Enterprise (DAS-CPE) directly with any questions about the ITQ, and how to determine the best and most appropriate procurement vehicle.

OCIO: OCIOBrokerage@iowa.gov 

DAS-CPE: Ken.Discher@iowa.gov  515-281-6380

How do I issue an ITQ request?

For state Agencies:

1. Post the request to the targeted small business site (TSB) with the restriction “This opportunity is restricted to ITQ qualified vendors.”
2. 48 hours after posting the notice to the TSB site send an email to ALL ITQ vendors that are prequalified within the particular ITQ Prequalified Category being used.  Include the RFP Request for ITQ Services document and any other pertinent procurement documents and information. 
3. If deemed necessary and appropriate, meet with all interested ITQ vendors (including Webinar/Conference Call) at time scheduled within RFP to discuss project requirements. 
4. Receive written proposals.
5. Evaluate and Award. 
6. Execute a Master Agreement and a Statement of Work.

For other Governmental entities and Governmental subdivisions:

Please contact the Office of the Chief Information Officer at OCIOBrokerage@iowa.gov 

When would an agency want to issue an RFP to the general marketplace? 

For large complex procurements that fit multiple of the ITQ Prequalified List Categories, Agencies may prefer a bid to the general marketplace.

Will the ITQ be reissued to allow other vendors to participate? 

Yes, subsequent invitations to qualify will be reissued on a periodic basis to pre-qualify additional vendors.

What is the status of the currently qualified ITQ vendors (list established in 2013)?

As detailed in the ITQ Revised document the five companies that prequalified for the 2013 ITQ list under the category of Web Application Development will remain on that ITQ prequalified list, but only for that ITQ and its specific category and not for any part of this new ITQ.  However, those five vendors were encouraged to respond to this new ITQ and some of them did respond and obtained prequalification within the new ITQ.